We went to a little presentation about the new Gilbert temple last night. (It's still under construction)
We went with our good friends, the Millers. You know, our twin family friends!
(We are so grateful that they are always thinking up fun things to do and inviting us)
I can't get over how much I love this picture! We didn't even plan to stand like that... and Brecklyn's legs crack me up!!
In both pictures Everett is holding up his little piece of the temple. All of the kids got to take home a little 'rock' that the temple is made out of.
It's white granite from Georgia and white cement.
It sounds like this temple is going to be so gorgeous and amazing inside (just like all of the others) and I can't wait until it's done!
After the presentation we went to a nearby park and the boys rode scooters.
Haha, check out their skills!
We love the Millers... and the new Gilbert temple.
Sometimes I have these horrible, irrational motherly thoughts that my children might die while they are still children. I think it's something a lot of mothers think and worry about.
There was a span of several months last year when three young children in our extended circle of friends passed away. It's heartbreaking and makes you realize that tragedy can strike at anytime and to anyone.
Unfortunately, I've been a little paranoid about it lately and it's making my heart a little heavy. But I usually feel a lot better once I get things off my chest... so what I'm saying is that it would be really hard for me to live without these two beautiful people in my life.
I love them so much and hope I don't ever have to live a day without them. And I hope this is the only post I ever write about it.
I was looking for a specific book that I couldn't find so we were at the help counter. There was a little black boy on the other side of the counter and he kept (loudly) whispering "Tyrell" my direction.
I waited until he had said it three times to makes sure I was hearing correctly. I was about to say "what" when another little black boy answered for me.
Lol, gotta love my name!
I've been teased my whole life that I am the wrong size, gender, and skin color for my name. I honestly don't mind my name one bit. In fact, I kind-of like it. I also like my size, gender, and skin color but sometimes I think it would be cool to be a big, black guy.
For one thing, I could walk around calling everyone "brotha"
Not only that, but I'd probably be funny and have a really awesome laugh.
But I'm a little, white girl so I'll just keep dreaming and watching videos of how I could have been...
Everett and Jake spend a lot of time together in the pool. I'm pretty sure swimming with Dad is one of the major highlights in Everett's life right now! I'm so glad Everett has such a cool dad :)
Mother's day. I like it. I like celebrating womanhood and our divine role in God's plan.
An older gentleman spoke in church about motherhood. He's been an OBGYN for a long time... delivering over 30,000 babies and has been an important person in many mothers' lives. He gave an amazing talk that spoke straight to my heart. It was a great way to start out mother's day.
Everett made me a gift in nursery...
... and every woman received a rose and chocolates.
I love church... and I LOVE my children.
I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to raise these beautiful little people.
It's hard and challenging but I know my efforts are worth it.
Porkchop is two months old already. Already? Already!
Everett and I took Little Sister to the doctor the other day for her check-up and shots.
Baby Sister is 11 lbs 1 oz (60%) and 24 inches (95%) and it's obvious that she's growing. I swear she looks a little different every morning. Jake says the same thing when he comes home from work.
Our little Sweetheart is very, very constipated. Like every 4-5 days constipated. So she hopped on the MiraLax bandwagon for now. (I'm pretty sure we should buy stock in MiraLax.)
Girly-Girl got she shots and it broke my heart a little bit. She is the sweetest baby ever and is SOOO good to us so to see her little lip quiver, pout, and then cry made me want to take the shots for her.
(Totally rockin' the Band-Aids!)
I still put Sweet Girl in newborn size onesies. They still fit and I just LOVE tighter/form-fitting clothes on my babies. It makes it so much easier to handle them and it's cute.... although it's about time to graduate to the 0-3 month size.
Brecklyn practically puts herself to bed at 9, wakes up to eat around 2 and 5, and is ready for the day around 7. Like I said, she is fantastic. Sleeping during the day it just whatever.
*She's been in her own room for a month already.
*She doesn't need to be swaddled... in fact, I think she prefers to sleep with her arms in the "football goal" position.
*She eats anywhere from 2-6 ounces every 2-3 hours. She's super inconsistent.
*She seems to have sensitive skin... a new rash is always popping up on her face.
*She likes her bath and usually gets excited and rides her imaginary bike in the water.
*She smiles when I talk to her (I swear she almost laughed once) and likes to show me her many faces.
*She has been really fussy the last few days and I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with her constipation and shots. (Like don't put me down or I'll yell at you kind-of fussy.)
*She is very cooperative when it comes to family outings and running errands.
*We call her lots of different things. Jake named her Porkchop while we were still in the hospital. It just came out and he has no idea where it came from but I'm sure it's here to stay.
When Jake and I were married we were given the advice to always put eachother before our children.
Sadly, this is the only piece of advice I remember from the ceremony. So it must have been important!
We've been going on family dates for a while now, and we will continue to, but we've been able to go on two dates in the last two months without kids and it's nice. Really nice. (You know how nice it is to not have to un-buckle carseats at every place you stop!)
When Jake's family was visiting last month, the two of us snuck out for some sushi and then stopped at Bahama Bucks (shaved ice).
I didn't really have food cravings with Brecklyn... but now that I'm not pregnant I want shaved ice every second of the day. Specifically birthday cake, wedding cake, and sugar cookie flavors.
I'm such a sweets junkie.
Earlier this week Jake and I went to see Ironman 3 at the IMAX in 3D. You know how long Jake has been talking about seeing Ironman 3?! A loooooong time!
Our babies stayed at home with a good friend. Everett even cried when she left. I think we'll be calling her again soon!
No matter how old we get, how long we've been married, or how many kids we have hopefully we'll always be able to go on dates because it's so nice to date Jake again!
*You can just skip right to the pictures if you want...
The other night Julia and I sat outside of Yogurtland and talked about the motherly issues we are facing.
For me, my struggle is Everett. Specifically, getting him to play.
Everett and I are so different... yet the same.
When he was little we spent so much time outside. It didn't matter the temperate, if we were in the front yard or backyard, in the stroller or bike trailer, at the park or in the street- he just loved to play and be outside.
Now, I can't get him outside. It's a chore. I have to use creative thinking to get him outside...
He would rather sit on the couch inside and watch a movie, play on the phone, or watch youtube on the computer. (These are all alternatives because we canceled cable 3 months ago because all he wanted to do was watch cartoons.) He in an electronic junkie and I hate it.
This is where Everett and I are opposites.
Jake has to beg me to sit and watch a movie with him. Watching TV is the very last thing on my list. I would rather clean the house, fold the laundry, blog, create something... I always want to do something where I can see the outcome. A clean house, no laundry pile, a blog post, etc. (which isn't necessarily a good thing).
So if I were a kid, I feel like I'd want to build a block tower, make a Play-Doh snowman, read a book, color a picture, make a sand castle, etc.
So I struggle with ways to get Everett to actually be a kid and play. I want him to WANT to play outside, to WANT to ride his scooter or bike, to WANT to build a fort and use his imagination.
So the very next day when I told Everett for the 27th time that he couldn't watch a movie/computer/phone but that we could play _______ (multiple fill-in-the-blanks) he finally agreed to Play-Doh.
We have several hand-me-down Mr. Potato Heads in the same bin as the Play-Doh. Everett has never been interested in the spuds... until yesterday. He didn't even touch the Play-Doh once he realized his creative potential with the potato.
I WAS LAUGHING SOOOOOOOO HARD!!!! I was laughing so hard I was crying. It might have been because I was so tired I was practically delirious, but I was loving it.
And I was so happy that he was actually enjoying playing, being a kid, and using his imagination.
We sorted all the potato parts out and I let him make his own.
This is what he came up with!!!!:
Cracked me up! I was laughing so hard. It's just so hilarious to me!
He kept pointing at the hole above the eyes. I asked him what he thought went there... he said: Hmmmm (his answer to any question you ask him).
So I took the spare spud and showed him that the potato needed eyes, a nose, and a mouth:
Haha, so he grabs the little potato face piece and sticks it where they eyes go.
He kept rearranging until he had created his masterpiece.
It still makes me smile!
It was one of those happy mother moments that you wish happened way more often than they do. Thankfully I was able to fully enjoy Everett's creativity while Brecklyn napped on the couch.
I caught a little of him playing on the camera. I'm not sure why it sounds like he says poop so often but I'm just happy when he can say anything
And that was our little potato adventure. It was totally hilarious and completely enjoyable. Hopefully it will happen again! Maybe I'll even get Everett outside soon.
*I love these two. I used to wonder if I was a good mom and if I was doing things right. I don't worry about that anymore. I am a good mom. A really good mom. (And it has nothing to do with Everett building a Mr. Potato Head... I just realized it the other day and wanted to say it out loud.)
